Poverty matters blog + Food science | The Guardianhttp://www.theguardian.com/global-development/poverty-matters+science/food-science
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Lab-grown burgers cannot provide a secure future for Africa | John Vidalhttp://www.theguardian.com/global-development/poverty-matters/2013/aug/06/lab-grown-burgers-stem-cell-africa
Small-scale agriculture is key to feeding Africans, not expensive stem-cell burgers cooked up in a western laboratory<p>Sergey Brin, the billionaire American businessman who co-founded Google, pays a Dutch scientist to <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/aug/05/world-first-synthetic-hamburger-mouth-feel" title="">develop a burger from stem cells</a> extracted from cow muscle tissue. These are cultured with growth-promoting chemicals to help them develop and multiply and, in a global TV event dreamed up by an international marketing company, the resulting €250,000 (&pound;216,000) burger is billed as a triumph for science and ethics, a way to feed a future world population of 9 billion people, most of whom will be born in developing countries. The general consensus in London is that science has a moral obligation to support this kind of research.</p><p></p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/poverty-matters/2013/aug/06/lab-grown-burgers-stem-cell-africa">Continue reading...</a>Food securityGlobal developmentSocietyFood scienceMeatThe meat industryGMSergey BrinStem cellsGoogleTue, 06 Aug 2013 11:39:15 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/global-development/poverty-matters/2013/aug/06/lab-grown-burgers-stem-cell-africaToby Melville/Reuters‘The laboratory burger served up in London by scientists proposes patented, heavily processed food that has been developed at a phenomenal cost.’ Photograph: Toby Melville/ReutersToby Melville/Reuters‘The laboratory burger served up in London by scientists proposes patented, heavily processed food that has been developed at a phenomenal cost.’ Photograph: Toby Melville/ReutersJohn Vidal2013-08-06T11:39:15ZAquatic agriculture offers a new solution to the problem of water scarcity | Mark Tranhttp://www.theguardian.com/global-development/poverty-matters/2013/jan/05/marine-agriculture-solution-water-scarcity
Costa Rican academics are pioneering the growth of crops on freshwater lakes as a way of addressing food shortages<p>Hunger and nutrition <a href="http://www.concern.net/en/news-blogs/get-active/fighting-hunger-2013-g8-summit" title="">will feature prominently at the G8 summit</a> in Northern Ireland in June, in keeping with the renewed interest in agriculture, especially in Africa, where investors are <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/dec/11/privatising-aid-dangerous?CMP=twt_gu" title="">eyeing the potential of vast tracts of land</a>.</p><p>But as experts note, water is the most severe impediment to increasing food production and security.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/poverty-matters/2013/jan/05/marine-agriculture-solution-water-scarcity">Continue reading...</a>Food securityGlobal developmentAfricaWorld newsWaterEnvironmentAgricultureFood scienceScienceSat, 05 Jan 2013 09:00:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/global-development/poverty-matters/2013/jan/05/marine-agriculture-solution-water-scarcityGrand Challenges CanadaMDG Floating farms, Lake Nicaragua Photograph: Grand Challenges CanadaGrand Challenges CanadaMDG Floating farms, Lake Nicaragua Photograph: Grand Challenges CanadaMark Tran2013-01-05T09:00:00ZThe era of cheap food may be overhttp://www.theguardian.com/business/2012/sep/02/era-of-cheap-food-over
A spike in prices caused by poor harvests and rising demand is an apt moment for the west to reassess the wisdom of biofuels<p>The last decade saw the end of cheap oil, the magic growth ingredient for the global economy after the second world war. This summer's increase in maize, wheat and soya bean prices – the third spike in the past five years – suggests the era of cheap food is also over.</p><p>Price increases in both oil and food provide textbook examples of market forces. Rapid expansion in the big emerging markets, especially China, has led to an increase in demand at a time when there have been supply constraints. For crude, these have included the war in Iraq, the embargo imposed on Iran, and the fact that some of the older fields are starting to run dry before new sources of crude are opened up.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/business/2012/sep/02/era-of-cheap-food-over">Continue reading...</a>CommoditiesFoodBiofuelsFood scienceFarmingFood securityOilEnvironmentScienceBusinessEnergyRenewable energySocietyGlobal developmentEconomicsFood & drinkLife and styleSun, 02 Sep 2012 11:39:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/business/2012/sep/02/era-of-cheap-food-overSaul Loeb/AFP/Getty ImagesMaize on a drought-hit farm near Oakland City, Indiana. The US maize harvest is down by more than 100m tonnes on what was expected. Photograph: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty ImagesSaul Loeb/AFP/Getty ImagesMaize on a drought-hit farm near Oakland City, Indiana. The US maize harvest is down by more than 100m tonnes on what was expected. Photograph: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty ImagesLarry Elliott, economics editor2012-09-02T11:39:00ZFood security: our daily bread | Editorialhttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/mar/12/food-security-our-daily-bread
Scientists have tested a new strain of wheat that could increase yields in saline soils by 25%<p>Australian scientists have just tested a new strain of wheat that could increase yields in saline soils by 25%. The news comes just as Oxfam warns of <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/2012/mar/09/urgent-action-sahel-humanitarian-emergecny">catastrophic drought and&nbsp;potential famine in the west African desert regions</a>, and is a reminder that we face an increasingly hungry world. Global warming and rising sea levels present a challenge for everybody. Just 11% of the planet's land surface&nbsp;is suitable for agriculture, and a lot&nbsp;of this land is being steadily <a href="http://soils.usda.gov/use/worldsoils/papers/land-degradation-overview.html" title="">degraded by&nbsp;salination</a>.</p><p>Salts tend to accumulate wherever soils are irrigated, and ever higher tides will mean that huge tracts of now fertile estuary farmland – for instance in the Nile delta, and in Bangladesh – are increasingly at risk from catastrophic flooding or slow poisoning with brine. Extremes of heat, too, tend to depress crop yields. The Australians report in <a href="http://www.nature.com/nbt/index.html" title="">Nature Biotechnology</a> today that they identified a salt-tolerant gene in a wild wheat ancestor, and bred it into durum wheat, the basis of pasta, noodles, couscous and a lot of bread too. They used traditional techniques to transfer the gene, thanks to increasingly precise knowledge of the molecular biology and biochemistry of plants. Researchers have sequenced the genomes of around 30 plants, among them wheat, soybean, rice, maize, millet and potato.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/mar/12/food-security-our-daily-bread">Continue reading...</a>Food securityFood scienceGMScienceFood safetyAgricultureWorld newsSocietyGlobal developmentFoodEnvironmentFarmingGeneticsBiochemistry and molecular biologyPlantsMon, 12 Mar 2012 00:01:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/mar/12/food-security-our-daily-breadEditorial2012-03-12T00:01:00ZThe sticky challenge facing Africahttp://www.theguardian.com/global-development/poverty-matters/2011/dec/20/therapeutic-food-famine-relief-africa
Ready-to-use therapeutic foods have revolutionised famine relief in Africa; the issue now is whether they can be produced there<p>As the food crisis in the Horn of Africa continues, so do the campaigns asking for support and donations. Some of the money raised goes on the purchase of ready-to-use therapeutic foods (RUTFs), small packets of a sticky, peanut butter-like paste, fortified with minerals and vitamins, that can reverse severe malnutrition within six weeks. &nbsp;Products such as Plumpy'nut.</p><p>The vast majority of RUTFs are produced in the US or Europe, bought by aid agencies such as Unicef, and transported great distances to reach those in need. But a small group of social enterprises is questioning this business model, redesigning it with a more local footprint in mind.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/poverty-matters/2011/dec/20/therapeutic-food-famine-relief-africa">Continue reading...</a>Global developmentMalnutritionAidFood scienceWorld newsTue, 20 Dec 2011 10:28:08 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/global-development/poverty-matters/2011/dec/20/therapeutic-food-famine-relief-africaAlamy/AlamyReady-to-use therapeutic foods can reverse severe malnutrition inside six weeks, but are mostly made in the US and Europe. Photograph: AlamyAlamy/AlamyReady-to-use therapeutic foods can reverse severe malnutrition inside six weeks, but are mostly made in the US and Europe. Photograph: AlamyEsha Chhabra2011-12-20T10:28:08Z